Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Youth services educator Lizzie urges parents to keep an 'open door' for talks on puberty, consent and online safety
Loading...
Summary
At a parent workshop Lizzie, who leads a SHARE program at Youth Services, told parents to prioritize relationship-building, validate feelings and use practical tools (OARS, SOI, 'wonder aloud') so children will talk about puberty, consent and online risks. She advised enforceable tech boundaries and to treat disclosure of explicit images as a reportable safety concern.
Lizzie, a program lead at Youth Services who oversees a SHARE (sexual health and relationship education) program, told parents at a community workshop that keeping an “open door” to conversation is the single most important step they can take to help children navigate puberty, consent and online risks.
“Your job is to keep your door open as much as possible so that when…their door opens just the tiniest, tiniest bit, you are ready,” Lizzie said, urging parents to be available and to avoid shaming or dismissive reactions that can close communication.
Why it matters: Lizzie said research shows young people frequently turn to parents first for information about sexual health and relationships, and that ongoing, age‑appropriate conversations are linked to safer, more informed choices. She framed the work as relationship-focused: validate feelings without necessarily approving behavior, and prioritize staying connected so children will seek guidance later.
Practical tools: The workshop covered conversational techniques parents can use immediately: SOI (Some people/Other people/You might…), ‘wonder aloud’ questions, and OARS (Open-ended questions, Affirmation, Reflection, Summary) from motivational interviewing. Lizzie recommended simple, low-pressure prompts and reflections rather than direct interrogation. “The best all-purpose consent question is, ‘Is this okay?’” she said, offering it as a default phrasing parents can teach and model.
Scenarios and boundaries: Using classroom scenarios, presenters recommended responses such as closing a teen’s door and checking back later with validating language; using a neutral expression (a “table face”) so facial judgment does not shut down talk; and setting enforceable household rules (for example, keeping guest visits in public rooms or establishing phone‑time limits) rather than trying to control private behavior that occurs outside parental supervision.
Tech safety: Lizzie warned parents that sharing explicit images can carry legal risk for minors and recommended a clear family response: instruct children to tell a trusted adult and delete explicit images immediately. “If they receive explicit pictures of someone else, I expect them to tell me about it and then delete it,” she said, framing reporting and removal as the expected safety steps.
Resources: Lizzie recommended age‑appropriate resources parents can use, including short videos from Amaze (amaze.org) and several books for parents (she named authors Corey Silverberg and Fiona Smith). She also referenced a national set of sexuality education standards as a developmentally based chart she uses to decide what to discuss at each age; the exact title in the transcript was redacted but the document is intended for educators and covers topics from medical terminology for body parts in early grades to consent and contraception in later grades.
What’s next: Presenters closed by encouraging parents to treat these conversations as many small talks over time rather than a single 'birds and bees' moment, to prepare language and boundaries in advance, and to follow up with staff or resources for additional questions.
Attribution: Quotations and specific guidance in this report come from workshop speakers listed below.
